Mario Balotelli could wind up in Serie C on loan

Mario Balotelli could be offered the chance to end his Liverpool nightmare – by making a move to ambitious Serie C outfit Lupa Castelli.

Italy striker Balotelli joined the Reds in a £16 million ($24.8 million) deal last summer but failed to settle at Anfield and scored just four goals in all competitions for the club.

Liverpool have signed Christian Benteke and Danny Ings this summer, and with Daniel Sturridge also on their books, they are widely reported to be happy to listen to offers for their Italian misfit.

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But with Liverpool so far not finding any suitors for the former AC Milan, Man City and Inter striker, Serie C side Castelli have outlined ambitious plans to sign him on loan.

Speaking to Sky Italiam, Castelli’s club president Marco Amelia said: "Our intention is to bring our friend, Balotelli, here, a player who at this time needs to start afresh because we see that he does not want to play anymore, has fans opposing him and is no longer able to show his quality.

"For Mario, this could be the first step towards cleaning up his act, taking two steps back and showing everyone what he is capable of doing. Six months here would be useful to him to start the path of purification.

"He must regain humility and enthusiasm that allowed him to break into football matters when he was starting out."

Amelia admits a deal for Balotelli looks unlikely, but will still press ahead with plans to ask him.

"It will be difficult, almost impossible, but I will try anyway," he added. "I hope that the importance of the city of Rome and our friendship helps me.

"I’ll try to call Mario Balotelli. On an economic point of view, we’ll see what happens. I think that at this time Mario needs to find the will he needs to compete. It will be tough, it will be almost impossible as it is something that football has never seen, but he could do it."